The Last of the Dragon Kings
by tappingurl
Summary: It's been many years since the Ziabach empire was destroyed, and Gaea was once again a peaceful world. The people of Gaea can now go about their everyday lives without fear. Van rules Fanelia serving as its main protector, and Hitomi back on Earth works


It was near midnight when a young handsome man stepped out onto his balcony. There was a slight breeze that ruffled his unruly dark hair as he lifted his head to the night sky and stared in awe at the sight of the two moons that delicately hung in the darkness among the stars. It was a still night; the only noise came from the crickets chirping in the nearby woods. Taking in this rare moment of peace Van, king of Fanelia, breathed a sigh of relief.

Van over the years had grown much taller, and as he continued his sword fighting technique his body built up quite a lot since his younger days; he now was becoming quite the looker for the young lady suitors that came by Fanelia. Though he was still young at the age of twenty, Van grew in wisdom over time, devoting himself to his duty as ruler of Fanelia.

Van looked back down at his sleeping kingdom. After the Zaibach war Fanelia was able to rebuild and became even greater than it had been before. The small remote kingdom has been steadily growing over the years, its residents seemed to feel safe under the rule of one of the heroes who destroyed the Ziabach Empire and once again brought peace to the land. Van began to rub his forehead in frustration. A lot of stress had been building up on his shoulders. After a short while of peace Gaea once again was being threatened with an era of chaos. Reports were coming in about attacks from creatures that seemed unknown to any of Gaea's native peoples. People rumored that the attacks came from monsters that fed on any type of flesh. The ominous feel of fear seemed to cling to the air. Van moved closer to the edge of the balcony and leaned forward on the railing letting the breeze flow past him. Though he was wearing a crimson robe, and pants the cool fresh air felt good against his bare chest. It wasn't stuffy or stale like that in the castle, it allowed him to gather his thoughts. His mind again wandered back to the thought of another war.

"Fanelia's people have suffered too much as it is, all of Gaea's people" Van whispered to himself as he continued to stare off into the horizon towards the black mountains.

"Over those mountains lies our answers and all the scholars of Gaea can do is sit and bicker with each other." Van laughed slightly to himself, "And all the councils of alliance can do is repeat the obvious." Van stood up straight once again and looked to the sky.

"I swear to you Father, Mother, Brother, and all those who died defending our home, I will not let Fanelia fall again, I will protect it with all my might." Van looked down at his hands and formed two fists "I will defend Fanelia at all costs, I will stop whatever darkness is coming"

I light glow came from a small red jewel hanging around Van's neck. Van looked down closing his eyes while clasping it in his hand.

"At least I know you're safe….hitomi.."

Hitomi sat up and opened her eyes while in bed. She swore she heard someone whisper her name, she swung her legs out of bed and walked to the window and looked to the sky,

"Van?"

Hitomi raised a weary hand to her head and tucked a small piece of her honey colored hair behind her ear. She continued staring up at the sky, a deep sinking feeling was pulling at her stomach. She instinctively touched her chest right below her neck, where a small red pendent used to hang. Although it had been many years since she had last seen him there wasn't a day that went by where she did not think of Van.

Walking to and from her classes at a New York state college Hitomi could not help but notice all the happy couples that walked hand in hand, and shared quick kisses before having to split up. Hitomi's heart ached for the chance to feel that closeness to the one person she cared most about. She tried to forget about these empty feelings, by studying abroad in New York and as an intern at the hospital. Hitomi found she had quite the touch for being a nurse. She was smart and confident, but what her patients liked best about her was her sincerity she had for all of them. Many claimed that she had the healing touch, and they got better simply because she had been there for them. That thought would always bring a smile to her face, just knowing that she could help another is what got her through her lonely nights.

Hitomi's eyes began to water and she immediately dried them.

"Oh for goodness sakes, would you get a grip!" Hitomi yelled to herself as she flopped down. She reached over and grabbed her pillow and slouched on it while sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Do I miss him so much that I'm hearing things now?" Hitomi whispered as she hugged her pillow tighter. When she heard her voice she had felt nothing. She knew that when Van truly thought of her she felt a glow with in her heart and her whole body seemed to grow warmer. But this time there was nothing, she still felt cold and hollow inside. She sat there in the silence for a few moments, unsure of what to think. Frustrated with herself she climbed back under her covers and laid down on her side, the only thing visible in the darkness was a small shimmering tear running down her cheek reflecting the pale moonlight.

When Hitomi awoke the next morning she hit her alarm clock and set it for snooze until she would be forced to get up, or be late. As she stood up she raised her hands above her head and stretched for a good minuet or so. Yawning and brushing the messy hair out of her face she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When she climbed in the warm water shook off the remaining sleepiness that in her body. When she had finished getting ready something had occurred to her. She stopped her racing from room to room, paused and looked around.

"Something's not right. Something is off."

She looked back and forth, she couldn't put her finger on it, but something about today, just seemed wrong. She tried to shake off the feeling as she was about to leave her apartment for work. She walked into her bedroom and grabbed her purse, and that's when she saw it. Her deck of tarot cards was a mess on the floor. Hitomi looked over and began to walk closer, but very slowly. She crouched lower and picked up the only card that was facing up, however once she realized what it was she dropped it immediately and fell backwards crawling away slightly.

"The lightning struck tower" Hitomi said as she put a hand up to her mouth. At that very moment Sirens were being activated over the city. Hitomi ran to the window to look, she saw people pouring out into the streets. Over in the distance she saw a darkness approaching and covering the city fast. People were screaming and pointed to the sky, form her angle Hitomi couldn't see what it was but then it hit her, the card was a warning.

Hitomi whispered, "The lightning struck tower" and her eyes went wide as she struggled to get back up, grabbed her cards and ran out of the room. Hitomi was screaming down the hall that everyone needed to get out, some followed her lead as she began her decent down the stairs. She nearly fell when a thundering crash came from outside. Some nearby windows shattered and the aftershock caused Hitomi to lose her footing. She regained her balance and started again, all she could hear was the deafening sound of people's screams. After making it to the lobby and pushing and shoving her way through the front doors, Hitomi finally made it outside. But the sight out there seemed more terrifying than that of the apartment complex. Everything around her was on fire, there were huge crater holes in the ground and people were running for their lives. She looked up and the sun had been blocked out, but the fires were the only lighting in the city. Hitomi began to run when she heard another crash and the impact sent her flying to the ground. She looked up and saw a fireball had hit her building and was about to come crashing down. The image had looked exactly like the picture on the card, a burning inferno bringing down her home. She was caught up in all the chaos she didn't know what to do or where to go. Fear began to grasp her and she just started to run. The cries of all the people in the air was the only thing she could hear, she didn't know these people, until she heard one single cry that made her freeze. She spun around she was looking back and forth and began calling her name,

"YUKARI! YUKARI WHERE ARE YOU!" Hitomi cried as she began running back into the sea of people, pushing and shoving. This didn't make any sense; Yukari should be back home in Tokyo, not in the U.S. Still Hitomi ran and searched and could not find the source, and then images began infiltrating her mind. People were crouched over in pain and there was blood, lots of blood. She saw the bodies of her friends from high school, and then she saw Yukari in a ball on the floor in pain calling for help. Hitomi had fallen to the ground clutching her head trying to get the horrifying images out of her mind.

"Stop it! Please stop…make it stop."

And then she saw him, she saw Van strung up with his writs above his head. His head was hung low and his hair covered his face. He had been beaten and there was blood everywhere again. Hitomi saw how much agony he was in. She looked to where his dangling feet were and saw a few feathers lying in the pool of blood. Van was hanging and had a sword planted straight through his chest. Hitomi nearly vomited at the sight. She looked at him again, and reached out, to distraught to stand and move closer, She cried out to him, and Van lifted his head and spoke,

"For you."

Just as Hitomi had enough of this horrible place, she heard another voice erupt,

"And so it shall be"

She screamed, "NO! Make it stop! PLEASE!" she was sobbing "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Hitomi shot up in bed screaming and sobbing at the top of her lungs. Still caught in the dream she was kicking the covers with her feet and was still clutching her head with her hands. A moment later she gained her composure and was breathing heavily. She got up and ran to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and splashed water on her face. She slowed her breathing and walked back into her room with a glass of water.

"Thank God", she said, "It was just a dream."

She sat back down and noticed something was knocked over on the floor next to her nightstand. She moved in closer, the lightning struck tower was facing upward.


End file.
